Valencia Basket starts this Thursday its path towards the second ACB League title in its history, in the fourth final played so far. The 'taronja' team faces Barça in the playoff final for the title, in a best-of-five series with home-court advantage. The first two games will be played at the Roig Arena, before the series travels to Barcelona on Monday.
Pedro Martínez's team arrives at the final as favorites. The Valencians finished the regular season in second place and are undefeated in the playoffs, after quickly defeating Bilbao in the quarterfinals (2-0) and Joventut de Badalona in the semifinals (3-0). In contrast, Barça is an unexpected guest in the final, after finishing the League in fifth place and leaving many doubts during a too irregular season. The 'blaugrana' team has taken advantage of Real Madrid's stumble to return to a final after three years. Xavi Pascual's team defeated Murcia in the quarterfinals (2-1) and Tenerife in the semifinals (3-0).
Valencia Basket faces the first game with the definite absence of Xabi López-Arostegui. Josep Puerto, who has already started training with the team after almost a month and a half out, and Nate Reuvers, who is suffering from a sprained left ankle, also do not have guaranteed participation in the final's opening game. If the three absences are confirmed, Pedro Martínez would only have to discard one player. The main candidates are Isaac Nogués, Darius Thompson—who has lost his place in the rotation in favor of Álvaro Cárdenas—and Yankuba Sima. For their part, Barça arrives at the duel without any absences. Therefore, Xavi Pascual will have to discard two players, who will likely be Miles Norris and Juan Núñez.
Home-court advantage is relative
In the final's presentation, which took place on the balcony of the València City Hall, Pedro Martínez downplayed the importance of having home-court advantage. The 'taronja' coach believes it is only a relative advantage and expects a "long and even" series against an opponent with a squad of "very experienced" players. The Catalan coach said they are focused on the first game and face it with great enthusiasm: "For Valencia Basket, playing a final is a very big success, and we will try to win it," he underlined.
The 'taronja' center Jaime Pradilla assured that they face the final "with enthusiasm and desire" against "a complicated opponent".
